June 24, 2012

This is the first trip where I’ve been conscious of being gluten-free on a trip. I’ve been mostly GF for a couple years, but, frankly, have not had to be especially careful. I’m not allergic, I’m *just* intolerant. I don’t have to worry about exact ingredients or cross-contamination, but I have found through stressful trial-and-error that I am much better off health-wise if I just avoid gluten altogether and focus on protein, fruits, and veggies. That doesn’t keep me from “cheating” now and then. (For the record, there are a few things that are totally worth the cheat, regardless of the consequences. Cannoli falls into the “cheat-worthy” category. So does pastel de nata (coming up in the Lisbon recap). Yum.) Before we left, a friend asked how hard it was to stay GF on a trip. I’ve been on several trips since realizing GF is best for me, but, again, since I’m not allergic, I don’t have to be strict. This trip, I decided to see how hard it really is.

My gut reaction when she initially asked was that breakfast and snacks are the hardest, and my gut was right. Before we left I stocked up on GF snack bars (Kind) and filled zip bags of nuts and craisins and chocolate. The flights to and from Europe from the West Coast are long and the time between meals can be excruciating. The nuts and bars were helpful not just for me, but for all of us. Therefore, SIDE NOTE: PACK SNACK BARS FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY, GF or not.

Breakfast is tough mainly because most places open for breakfast have coffee and pastries. Pastries are not usually GF, unfortunately. And, while good, they’re not usually worth a cheat, especially on a daily basis (in my case, the cumulative effect is the worst). When we have access to breakfast buffets or a grocery store, I can usually rely on meat, cheese, and fruit. Otherwise, I subsist on coffee and yogurt, and continue to rely on the snack bars.

There were a couple times when lunch was done in the car, picnic-style, and we just grabbed bread, meat, cheese, and whatever else looked good (usually fruit and nuts). Again, I just avoided the bread itself, and ate straight cheese and meat. In fact, the car picnics were pretty fun, especially when we were able to find local meats and cheeses along with amazing chocolate. (Of course.)

Dinners were the least of the problem. Many pinxtos (small bite tapas) were served on bread, but it probably would have been possible to order sin pan, without bread. I didn’t, because AJ and Bryan both like the bread; and, again, I didn’t have to worry about x-contam, so I could just pick the meat or cheese or whatever off the bread and eat it that way. And I did, a lot. (Yum.) I did not eat the breaded stuff (so only took a couple small bites of croquettes de jamon (ham croquettes) to get a sense of the taste) and a lot of what was offered was rice or meat based, so there really wasn’t a problem finding something that I could eat during the main meals.

By and large, GF is challenging, but doesn’t have be an end to exotic, or even normal, travels. GF is becoming more common world-wide so increasingly GF meals are available or you can ask for specifically GF choices. Check, and double-check, but when in doubt, bring your own stuff and enjoy yourself.